1. Field
The present invention is directed to an exercise machine that accepts and operates on a user-selected program for an exercise routine.
2. State of the Art
Stationary exercise machines are popular and widely used. They allow persons to engage in beneficial physical exercise while conveniently remaining at home or in a gym. Such exercise machines include, for example, treadmills, exercise cycles, and rowing machines. The user exercises by performing work upon the machine. Work is defined as force multiplied by distance. The work requirement or "difficulty" of exercise engaged in can be adjusted by changing the level of resistance offered by the device or by increasing the distance over which the user performs the exercising motion. It is widely recognized that a person can obtain beneficial results by varying the difficulty of the exercise during each exercise session and between sessions. For this reason, exercise machines are commonly equipped with mechanisms for manually adjusting the level of difficulty of the exercises engaged in.
Treadmills are unique in that they provide two different forms of difficulty adjustment. Both the incline of the running surface and the speed of the moving track can each be adjusted independently. When the incline is increased, the user is required to lift his legs higher, thus increasing the work output required of the user. As the speed of the track is increased, the user is required to move his feet and body more quickly, thus also increasing the work requirement. Exercise cycles typically include a mechanism for adjusting resistance or force offered against the pedaling motion of the pedals. Rowing machines typically have a mechanism for adjusting the resistance offered to the rowing levers or a rowing bar. As resistance is increased, so is the work requirement and therefore the difficulty of the exercise.
Certain exercise cycles have some form of control mechanism, such as an internal microprocessor, that is programmed to vary the resistance offered to the pedaling mechanism. The program operates according to a routine prescribed by the manufacturer. Certain of such cycles offer a number of such routines from which the user may select. Relative levels of resistance are displayed in some visual form to indicate to the user the relative difficulty currently being experienced.
However, some users of exercise equipment may not be entirely satisfied with the routines prescribed by the manufacturer. They may wish to engage in a sequence of exercise difficulties that they believe will provide an optimum exercise program for the conditioning goals they have in mind.
Many users of exercise equipment feel intimidated by typical computer interface systems, such as alphanumeric keyboards and/or LED or LCD displays. Many persons have a "mental block" against anything related to computers and may be unwilling to overcome this mental block to take the steps necessary to input their desired program into a control system computer.
There remains a need for exercise equipment having a mechanism allowing for easy selection of a user-defined routine or sequence of exercise difficulties. Such an exercise machine would preferably be adapted such that the user can "program" his selected routine into the apparatus without being required to operate typical computer interface systems such as alphanumeric keyboards and displays. Such an exercise apparatus would be particularly useful in the form of a treadmill providing for a programmed routine in which a control system adjusts the speed of the running track and/or the incline of the track according to a user-selected program.